


Pain Relief

by Living_Free



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Roy to the Rescue, batbros, batfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 08:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15637080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Living_Free/pseuds/Living_Free
Summary: “Don’t know if you heard, Dickie, but I killed Cobblepot. I’m on the Bat’s no-no list.”“You’ll never be on my no-no list, Jay,” Dick said softly. “You’re permanently on my Love List.”Or, after the Bruce Debacle of RHATO, Jason gets some much needed friends and family time.





	Pain Relief

When Jason came to, he heard a much loved voice echoing in his mind. “Roy,” he whispered, reaching out for his friend. His friends...

Artemis. Bizarro. 

Gone.

Jason couldn’t stop the tears that poured down the sides of his face and into his hair. He didn’t particularly want to.

Instead, he felt a pair of hands reach down and wipe the tears away. Not Roy’s though. Jason knew what Roy’s hands felt like. No. These were softer, thinner. Loving, but not romantic. Tender, but not sensual. 

“Gah. Dick.”

“Poor Little Wing,” Dick cooed from above him, smiling down at his little brother. 

“Don’t know if you heard, Dickie, but I killed Cobblepot. I’m on the Bat’s no-no list.”

“You’ll never be on my no-no list, Jay,” Dick said softly. “You’re permanently on my Love List.”

Eck. 

“Bruce...?”

“Oh, Roy,” Dick said, swiveling over to look sternly at the archer. “You didn’t have to tranquilize him, you know. Poor Bruce had an allergic reaction to that sedative and broke out in hives. He’s been angry and itchy for hours.”

Roy looked unrepentant. “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

“Hee hee,” Jason giggled wetly. Then he remembered. How could he laugh, when Biz and Arty were gone? Because of him?

“Roy...did you find...?”

Roy looked confused, then nodded in understanding. “Yeah.”

Oh no. 

“You should give them some credit, Jay,” Dick said. “Bizzaro is a clone of Superman, and Artemis is an Amazonian. It’s not like a measly explosion can take them out.”

“They’re unconscious,” Roy said, smiling slightly, “but healing. It’ll take a while, though.”

That opened the floodgates for Jason, and he started bawling like a child and hyperventilating. He had ruined his life, and hurt his two best friends. All because he couldn’t reign in his anger towards Penguin and had gone and shot the bastard. He was a selfish, no-good, lousy friend and hero-

A pair of strong arms enveloped Jason and he felt his head being guided to rest on Dick’s chest. He could feel his brother’s steady heartbeat. Somehow, every rhythm seemed to echo Love-you, Love-you, Love-you...

Argh. Stupid Dick. Stupid imagination casting his stupid brother in a motherly role. Stupid need for stupid unconditional love. 

Still, Jason leaned into the hug. 

“It’ll get better, Little Wing,” Dick hummed. 

“And if it doesn’t, you’ll always have me,” Roy said stoutly. “Who needs Batman, huh? Tell you what, Jay. If things start looking bad, I’ll marry you and we can be the kickass crimefighting duo of Arsenal and Hood. We’ll have our own merch. We’ll adopt Bizarro!”

Jason sniffled weakly. “Oh yeah? Where will we get married?”

“In Barbados,” Roy said quickly. “A beach wedding, and Artemis can officiate, because she’s a minor goddess. Just you and me, the sun and sea, baby.”

“Ahem.”

“And a wedding cake.”

“AHEM.”

“And Dick,” Roy allowed, and Dick beamed.

“And?” Dick asked expectantly. 

Roy rolled his eyes. “Fine. Your siblings can come too.”

“Good,” Dick said, and nuzzled his nose in Jason’s hair. “You see, Little Wing? Everything’s going to be just fine.”

Jason sniffed, his blocked sinuses protesting the influx of fresh air. “Guh. Stupid nose.”

“Disgusting, Todd! You sound worse than Drake at the height of his hayfever!”

Jason jumped in shock and looked at the window, where Damian in his costume was clambering through, followed by Tim. 

“I do not sound like that,” Tim protested. 

“Au contraire! You sound as though a hippopotamus is relieving itself!”

“What are you two doing here?” Jason asked, watching Damian clamber onto his sickbed and crawl his way onto Dick’s lap. 

“I am here to fix the results of your ineptitude, Todd!” Damian said pompously from his throne on Dick’s legs. “Drake is here to administer treatment to your wounded friends.”

“Dami-“

“Todd you fool! Can you not kill someone in silence? Have all those years of stealth training gone to waste? For shame!

“Father has excommunicated you,” Damian went on. “So now I, as the next Wayne, must take action to ensure your wellbeing. Todd,” Damian said puffing his chest out, “I hereby lay claim to you in the form of a blood adoption!”

Damian produced a knife and pricked his finger, then Jason’s and mashed their digits together. “It is done! From this day forward, Jason Todd belongs to the House of Al Ghul-Wayne, and is under the Lordship of Damian Al Ghul-Wayne and is privy to the protections that come with the position. So mote it be.”

“Damian-“

“I said so mote it be!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t let him watch Game of Thrones anymore,” Tim piped up. 

“That was very sweet of you, Dami,” Dick said fondly, dropping a kiss on the crown of his head. Damian glowed with the praise. 

Jason couldn’t stop the weak giggle that escaped him. He reached out and ruffled Damian’s hair. “Thanks, kiddo,” he hiccuped. “I appreciate it.”

“It’ll be alright, Jason,” Tim said softly. “Bruce excommunicates Dick like, twice a week for wearing a crop top. And he still shows up to Saturday brunch, doesn’t he? Bruce just needs some time.”

Jason nodded quietly. It was a betrayal, he realized, of Bruce’s trust. But it still hurt that Bruce hadn’t paused to consider why he had acted as he did. 

“I just...I know that I acted rashly,” Jason said. “But Cobblepot killed my dad! It drove my mom to drugs and-“ Jason paused. Memories of Catherine Todd’s wide-eyed corpse floated in front of his eyes. It had driven Jason from moderate to abject poverty. Prey for the criminals on Crime Alley. A victim. 

Dimly, Jason realized that he was being hugged again. Roy stood to the side, ashen faced, his own past haunting him. 

“You can’t live in the past, Jay.” This, surprisingly, was from Tim. “You’re not Inigo Montoya. You can’t let the past rule your future. If you’re going to fight crime, then you have to do it for the right reasons.”

Tim’s harsh tone was jarring. “Do you think that I’ve never fantasized about killing Boomerang? That I never tried? It’s just not worth it, to have that hanging over your head for the rest of your life. You’ll have a mark on your record forever, and no one will ever look at you the same. Not even your closest peers.”

Jason sniffled. Stupid, concise, well meaning, clever Tim. 

“Your rash impulses are going to be your downfall, Todd,” Damian said. “You need more help than we can give you.”

“All the love in the world can’t heal your pain, Jason,” Dick said. “We’d like you to consider going back to therapy and on medication.”

“I hated being medicated,” Jason sobbed. “It put me in this haze, and I couldn’t feel anything! I hated it! And I’m not going back to Arkham!”

“And we won’t let you!” Roy said vehemently. “There’s a whole world out there, Jay. We’ll find you the right kind of help. The right doctors and the right medication. We’re going to get it right this time, Jay.”

“There’s a doctor in a San Francisco,” Dick said quietly. “I used to see her. She was actually a part of the early Titans, but retired and works with plenty of young heroes. You can keep your mask on.” Dick cleared his throat. “I did.”

Jason looked up at his brother through red rimmed eyes. “You?”

“Everyone can hit a rough patch, Jay,” Dick said evenly. “So, will you consider going?”

Jason thought about his two best friends lying unconscious in a bid to save him. He thought of Bruce, and his stubborn need to assert himself over Jason. He thought of his siblings - his weird, bossy, but ultimately loving siblings - and came to a decision. 

“I’ll go,” he croaked. “But leaving Gotham...”

“It’s not forever,” Dick said, smoothing Jason’s hair back. “And Roy said that he’d go with you. And the Titans are in San Francisco, so I’ll be by a lot.”

And where Dick went, Damian went. And when no one was in the house, Tim got bored and also went.

Jason looked up at Roy, who smiled. “Together forever, man. Till the end of the world.”

Jason laughed. “You’re such a sap.”

“Only for you, Jay.”

And for the first time, Jason let himself believe that things were going to be alright.


End file.
